Two Shoulders
by xyber116
Summary: After Danny and Martin are involved in the shooting, Jack tells Samantha the news. This follows Endgame (Part 1), 3x23.


A/N: Originally, I wanted Sam and Jack to get back together but then I wanted a one-shot fic, so here it is. Please enjoy and review. One last note, thoughts are single quote while speaking is two.

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'God, this was turning into a shity day,' Jack Malone thought to himself has he rode the elevator up to the Missing Persons Unit. Everybody had been nervous about Vivian and her surgery and it had gone okay but the news following the joy was a disaster. Only 30 minutes after Vivian was out of surgery, he had received a phone call from hell. A captain with the NYPD had called Jack to let him know that someone had shot up Danny and Martin's car as they were transporting the suspected terrorist. Someone down the street had heard gunfire and called 911. Danny was only grazed and sitting in the ER while Martin had received the brunt of damage and was currently under going surgery.

He groaned. Danny and Martin had ended up in the same hospital as Vivian so Jack needed only to walk a short distance to Danny. The man was clearly shaken. Jack tried to calm him but in the end the doctor had given Danny a mild relaxant.

Danny then proceeded to fall asleep with a haunted look on his face. Jack had tried several times to contact Samantha. He tried her house, her cell, the office, and then her pager. He wasn't able to get a hold of her. He ended up gravitating towards the office.

By the time he stepped out of the elevator it was 11:45. This day was only getting longer by the minute. The floor was empty. No agents and janitors were to be found. But then he spotted the cell sitting on her desk. Jack walked over to the phone. It was off and the pager was sitting next to it. 'Also, off. Well, she isn't that far from here,' he thought.

That's when he saw her. She was out on the balcony lazily rolling a cigarette between her slim fingers. He stood there a moment and watched her. She was absolutely gorgeous. Her sun-kissed blonde hair and slim curving figure had intrigued Jack from the beginning. No wonder they had ended up in bed together. He always liked to take these few seconds when he could. He would catalog it for later. The mental pictures he had collected over the past few years would always provide some beauty in his life. They ran by him like slides on a projector.

'Snap out of it,' Jack mentally slapped himself. He had bad news to deliver and he did not want to start out by flirting with her. 'Take a deep breath and then a step,' he told himself. He squared his shoulders and headed for the door. It didn't squeak as he opened it. She continued to stare into the city.

"Hi," he said softly.

"Hey," she said slightly startled. "What are you doing here?" She inquired, flicking the cigarette off the balcony and into oblivion.

"I couldn't reach you. I saw that you've unplugged yourself from the network."

"Yeah, I just need a few minutes from it all."

"No doubt," he said with a sigh. "I have some good news and some really shity news."

"Mmmm…, please do tell," she asked turning towards him.

"Well," then he paused for a breath. "Vivian is fine. Her surgery went well. It looks like she'll be back in a few weeks."

"That's good to hear. But that's not the reason you came down here. It was that really shity news. Wasn't it?"

"Yeah, it was," he plunged ahead. "So Danny and Martin were transporting that terrorist guy and they had stopped at a red light. Then somebody proceeded to fire on their car. The suspect died, Danny is in the ER with minor scrapes, and Martin is in the OR as we speak," he rambled quickly through the information.

"Wow… wow…okay," she said with disbelief. This was not the best way to end the day.

"Is Martin going to make it?" she asked with a quivering lip. Even though they had broken it off just recently, they still had been friends and partners before the relationship had started. It wasn't like she wanted him die. Well, maybe, but not really.

"They're pretty sure he'll make it through surgery. Any surgery is risky but it looks okay. The recovery looks good too. The worst damage is psychological. You know that," he said in a reassuring voice. He took a step towards her. She had braced herself against the railing of the building. She looked stunned and frightened. 'How deeply did her feelings for Martin run?' he asked himself. He let his shoulder touch hers in a solacing gesture. She seemed to like this and turned more towards him.

"I know you think that Martin and I are seeing each other but we aren't. We broke it off a little while ago."

"Oh, it's really none of my business," he said. He didn't want to hear the details of other people's relationships.

"Yeah, but you need to know. You're my friend, and so are Danny and Vivian and Martin. I don't want you to assume stuff and get it wrong," she finished softly.

"Did you want to go to the hospital?" he asked her.

"Yes, but not right now. Maybe in a little while."

"That's not a problem. I'm in no hurry. They gave Danny a relaxant and he passed out. Martin is still in surgery and Vivian wasn't even awake when I left."

"Jack?"

"Yeah, Sam?"

"Thanks for telling me," with this she leaned her shoulder further into him. And he in turn leaned further into her.

It was a hug with shoulders. Two shoulders that touched for these specials moments between them. These people that owned these shoulders comforted each other in this simple gesture. They stood on the balcony staring into the city waiting for the right time to break from one another. It seemed as if they would never break from another.


End file.
